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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Since you asked... all about Protect Your Elderly Parents

A reader has sent me a question asking about my first book, called "Protect Your Elderly Parents", which was published by Self-Counsel Press in 2008. Here is his question:

"I want full details of your book called "Protect your Elderly Parents", i mean i just want to know what are the things which you have mentioned in it and what are the responses you got from the people who had gone trough your book ! I totally love this kind of books where they mention the importance of Elderly people or stuff related to that !"

I love talking about the stuff in my books. If I didn't have a passion for these topics, I would never have written about them!

This book tells readers how to get appointed by the courts as a guardian or trustee, or both, for parents who have lost decision-making ability. I wrote it because nobody ever talks about what has to happen if someone fails to prepare power of attorney and health care directives. And the legal process can be a mystery to many. There are tons of articles and books urging people to prepare their documents, but few that tell us what to do when it's too late to do that planning.

And people do leave it too late. Whether it's because they don't want to talk about unpleasant subjects like dying or losing mental capacity, or because they think they'll have time to do it "later", many of us simply don't ever get all of our legal ducks in a row.

In the book I talk about who can apply to be a guardian or trustee, and what to do and not do once you are appointed. I make sure that people fully understand the role of guardian or trustee before they even approach the court. I talk about less intrusive alternatives they should consider before going to court. I talk about record-keeping, legalities, communication with others and give specific examples of how to deal with certain situations.

I give guidelines for how to be a good representative in terms of what to focus on and how to do the job humanely and properly. I urge compassion, patience and common sense throughout the book. I talk about how to separate your own agenda from that of your parents. I'm clear about what you can't do from either a legal or a moral standpoint with someon else's money.
The book contains all of the forms needed in every province and territory to apply to the court to be appointed as trustee or guardian, and to apply to the court for reviews or renewals of orders. I've also included detailed checklists.

When the book came out, despite the fact that it was my first book and nobody knew me, it received enormous media coverage across the country. I was interviewed from Vancouver to Cape Breton as everyone recognized the importance of looking after vulnerable seniors. I appeared on BNN, Global TV, CityTV and CBC radio to talk about the issues raised in the book. If you'd like to see more feedback, check out the comments on the lower part of my blog that I receive from blog readers and people who attend my seminars.

Lawyers have contacted me to say they have given out this book to clients to ensure they understand the role they are taking on with respect to their parents. Colleges have told me they've included it in their Legal Assistant Programs. The feedback I receive the most often is that all of my books are actually readable, as they are not full of legal terms.

The popularity of this book led directly to the creation of my third book, called "Estate Planning Through Family Meetings (Without Breaking up the Family)" as I was asked again and again how to have the difficult conversations with parents and siblings.

"Protect Your Elderly Parents" is currently being updated to reflect the fact that Alberta, for example, has had new adult guardianship laws brought into effect, and I'm re-visiting each and every chapter of the book to see what can be improved or updated.

Lynne is the author of 10 books about estate planning, and one book about legal history.

Lynne is the editor of MC2, the national magazine of Mensa Canada.

Lynne is the co-host of The Law Show, a weekly program on VOCM radio.

Lynne is a Learning Group Facilitator (online instructor) for the Legal Research and Writing and the Written Advice and Advocacy modules of the Alberta Bar Admission course.

She is a member of the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, STEP Canada, ADR Atlantic Institute, the Canadian Institute of Certified Executor Advisors, and Mensa Canada.

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No blog post or online article could ever take the place of a one-on-one discussion with an experienced professional advisor. Even when responding to a reader question, the answers on this blog are intended as general information only. Don't rely on general information as if it were legal advice. Use what you read here as a starting point for your research or enquiries.